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Over the years I have been asked the “why?” question – “why did you open CLSR?” The best answer comes from a conversation on an airplane…

A number of years ago I was on a plane headed to a career development conference and I overheard a conversation in which a counsellor was recounting some very bad advice that had been provided to a client who needed help. I got angry. Not only, in my opinion, was the comment in poor taste, it certainly wasn’t helpful and served no purpose.

What’s the end to this story? I have made it my mission to find good, validated and applicable, preferably Canadian, or applicable to the Canadian culture, materials to support counsellors/career development professionals and their clients/students. That mission continues today. Our audience has broadened considerably now, with employment and career development practitioners and human resource professionals across the country, and outside our borders, looking for materials to help their clients.

Another question that often comes up relates to the selection of materials. Once the validity/credibility of the resource has been addressed I have a rather simple yardstick: “Is it (the book/assessment/video/whatever) “immediately useful?” That is, would it make a positive contribution to the person who is seeking the help of the practitioner or to the field itself? We also look for resources that appeal to all sorts of learners – those who prefer to read and learn on their own, those who prefer to learn while moving about, those who prefer to have others help them through the process, to name but a few.

At CLSR we are strong advocates for networking and professional development. When we get the chance to provide support to, or network information about a professional development or other networking activities that we think will be interesting or useful to our colleagues and clients we try to share that information too.

We are a work in process – and I hope we always will be. Career paths are evolving so quickly and the job market is changing so rapidly … many of the jobs available today will be unknown within the next decade … that we need to always be looking to respond in a way that will address everyone going through this transition.

And I hope that the only stories I hear now are positive ones!

Denise HeadshotDenise Hughes is the Director and owner of Career/LifeSkills Resources Inc. and general editor of Personality Dimensions® materials and products. She just noticed the calendar and realized it is just past the 42nd anniversary of her introduction to career materials. Those experiences and the expertise she gained through her years with the Guidance Centre, University of Toronto, and now with CLSR, continue to shape the direction that both Career/LifeSkills Resources and Personality Dimensions® take